Activists want Tucson to be Arizona’s 1st sanctuary city

By Associated Press | January 11, 2019 at 8:00 pmUPDATED: January 13, 2019 at 11:30 am

(City of Tucson/Facebook)

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – Activists want to make Tucson the first sanctuary city in Arizona.

KGUN-TV in Tucson, Arizona, reports the advocacy group the People’s Defense Initiative is collecting signatures to place an initiative on the November 2019 ballot asking voters to approve a measure deeming Tucson a sanctuary city.

People’s Defense Initiative Director Zaira Livier says Tucson has a long valuable history in protecting its “undocumented neighbors.”

Under the proposal, police officers and city employees would be prohibited from detaining anyone based on immigration status.

The group has until July 5 to collect more than 9,000 valid signatures.